


Cogito Ergo Sum

by vgsfshade6116



Series: Cogito Ergo Sum [1]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: A LOT of Angst, AU, Alternate Universe, Angst, M/M, Robo!Jack AU, well the death is a 'sorta' in the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-03
Updated: 2016-09-05
Packaged: 2018-08-12 19:35:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7946488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vgsfshade6116/pseuds/vgsfshade6116
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Blackwatch raids a Talon base, they recover an experimental combat android. While examining it, the android is accidentally activated. However, the android is unaware of its true nature, and believes that it is human. Taking advantage of this, Blackwatch recruits it as its newest agent.<br/>Gabriel Reyes, however, has conflicted feelings about this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was originally posted on tumblr. The fic can also be found here: http://clockpunkgamelover.tumblr.com/tagged/jackbot%20au

"Ah, Reyes. It's good that you're here now."

"Skip the pleasantries, doc. Just tell me what you found out about this thing."

"Right, right." Dr. Lawrence turned to the console and tapped on the keyboard, opening several files. "It really is a marvel of engineering. I could spend weeks analyzing its components."

Gabriel looked down at the figure lying on the work table, a sheet draped over its lower regions to give it some modesty. He recalled that when he had first found it at the Talon base, he had thought it was a dead body. But there had been no hint of decay, and the room it was in did not have things like syringes or surgical tools, but rather engineering equipment. He had called in his team in so that they could move it to the transport. The thing had been surprisingly heavy, and it had taken 3 people to carry it out and stuff it into a crate.

Even now, knowing what it really was, Gabriel could see how others would have trouble telling it apart from a normal human. The whole body had a sculpted quality to it. The jaw was strong and square, the muscles well-defined. Gabriel might even call it handsome.

"They were very dedicated to making it seem human," Dr. Lawrence was saying. "They didn't just slap some artificial skin on it, they gave it systems mirroring biological functions. It has taste sensors, and a digestive system for processing organic food into fuel."

"Can you cut to the chase doc?" Gabriel crossed his arms. "Tell me what this thing is capable of."

"Right, right, right." Dr. Lawrence pulled up the android's schematics and specs. "It's able to lift about 35 tons, run 40 miles per hour, and it's very physically durable, it can stand barrages of sustained gunfire."

Gabriel scowled as he looked at the metal skeleton glaring down at him. "Now I'm worried about just how many of these Talon has. If they have an army, then we've got a huge problem on our hands."

Dr. Lawrence waved him off. "I'm sure that when you acquire more Talon data, you'll be able to conduct whatever raids you need. In fact..." he grabbed a cable and went over to the android, plugging it directly into the back of its head. "I suspect that there may already be some data stored in our little acquisition here."

Dr. Lawrence started up the hacking program, then looked back at Gabriel, excitement on his face. "I really can't overstate just how valuable it is that we have this in our possession now. There are endless possibilities for this! Imagine what could be done once we reverse-engineer this...Androids working for us..."

Gabriel was about to yell at him for learning nothing from the Omnic Crisis when he noticed that the android's eyes were flickering. "Doc, what are you doing?"

"I'm just accessing the android's memory-" Then he noticed the android twitching to life as well and he furiously began trying to shut it down. But it was too late. The android's eyes fully opened and it sat up on the table, the cable pulled out by the motion. It looked around, bright blue eyes landing on the two humans in the room.

They stared at each other for a long while, nobody making a move. Gabriel's hand crept toward a holstered shotgun. The android had a look of confusion, mixed with caution and a little curiosity. Then, it opened its mouth and asked a simple question.

"Who are you?"

Gabriel and Dr. Lawrence glanced at each other. Dr. Lawrence cleared his throat.

"I will answer your questions, but ah, first, could you please tell us your name?"

Gabriel shot an incredulous look at Dr. Lawrence, but the doctor gestured for him to stay silent. 

"Jack Morrison." the android answered.

"Where are you from?"

"Indiana."

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"Getting on the bus for New York..." a look of distress came over its face.”Who are you people? Where am I?"

"Well..." Dr. Lawrence clasped his hands together. "Have you ever heard of Overwatch?"

"Overwatch?" it scrunched its eyebrows, and Gabriel had to admit, Talon had done a helluva job making sure its expressions didn't come off as creepy or weird. "You mean the UN team?"

"Yes! We are them! Well, sort of. Specifically, we are Blackwatch. We carry out missions that are better left unnoticed by the public eye. This here is Gabriel Reyes, our commander."

"Hi." Gabriel grunted. The android looked at Gabriel, then back to Dr. Lawrence.

"Talon is a terrorist organization trying to destabilize world peace, and one of Overwatch's biggest enemies. We're not sure what their motives are, but we do know that they're trying to create deadly super-soldiers. We found you, unconscious, in a Talon base. Reyes here bought you back here. From the files we managed to recover, and preliminary examinations of you, it seems that you were one of their experiments. We're not entirely sure what they did to you, I'm sorry to say."

The android looked down at its hands. "I...this is all crazy..."

Dr. Lawrence placed a hand on its shoulder. "I know it's a lot to take in. But rest assured, you're in good hands now. We're doing our best to help you, and others around the world."

Dr. Lawrence helped the android off the table, and it tied the sheet around its waist. "Follow us," Dr. Lawrence said. "We'll show you to a room where you can rest, and get some proper clothes."

Gabriel and Dr. Lawrence escorted the android to some spare quarters. The whole way Gabriel's hands hovered near his shotguns, ready to blast the android in case it tried anything. There were no incidents however, and it quietly went into the room. As soon it was inside, Gabriel and Dr. Lawrence went to a private spot in the base where they wouldn't be overheard.

"So what the hell do we do now, doc?" Gabriel scowled.

Dr. Lawrence had a stony look on his face. "We use it, as planned."

Gabriel crossed his arms. "In every movie where the military gets a robot with firepower, the robot goes berserk and kills everyone at base."

"The first chance I get, I'm installing a kill switch in it. Whenever it gets ornery, we turn it off, tweak whatever we need to, then turn it back on. If it makes you feel better, I'll hand the switch over to you, sir.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do."

The doctor left, and Gabriel rubbed his temples. He was not going to enjoy sending a report of this to Ana.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The android adjusts to its new life, and finds ways to surprise Gabriel.

The next few weeks were filled with tests of the android’s capabilities. The first few tests pretty much confirmed what was listed on its specs; it set records in weight-lifting and completed obstacle courses in under a minute. When they tested its marksmanship skills, it was able to hit all the targets dead-center.

Right now was making sure that it knew how to control its strength. Gabriel watched as Dr. Lawrence set a wine glass on the table. “Pick it up, but don’t break it.” he ordered.

The android gingerly picked it up. Even so, it managed the snap the stem of the glass. “Shit!”

Dr. Lawrence put another wine glass on the table. “Try it again.”             

They went through about 5 more glasses before the android was able to pick one up without shattering it. Its face lit up. “Hey, I didn’t break it this time!”

Dr. Lawrence nodded and made a note on his datapad. “Alright, next test now.” He put a small cage with a rat in it on the table. Dr. Lawrence opened the cage, letting the rat scamper out. “Pet it. Don’t crush it.”

Gabriel watched, not without a little apprehension, as the android reached out for the rat. The rat curiously sniffed the offered fingers, and the android began to stroke the rodent’s head with the lightest of touches. When the rat’s skull wasn’t crushed, the android smiled and took the rat in its hands, continuing to pet it.

“Alright, that’s enough.” Dr. Lawrence took the rat back from the android and put it back in the cage. The doctor then turned to Gabriel. “Reyes, can you give me your combat knife for a moment?”

Gabriel eyed him suspiciously. “What are you planning?”

“Just another small test.”

Gabriel was still suspicious but handed over the knife. The doctor thanked him, then nicked the android’s arm with it.

Red leaked out of the cut. Talon must’ve put fake blood in the artificial skin. The android looked at the wound with confusion.

“Sorry about that,” Dr. Lawrence said, returning Gabriel’s knife. He took a bandage out of his pocket and put it over the cut. “But according to the files, Talon took away your ability to feel pain. I wanted to see if that was indeed true. Tell me, did you feel any pain from that?”

“No…” the android shook its head.

“Then you’ll have to be careful then. You could get seriously injured and not realize it until it’s too late.

“Well, that’s enough for today. You can go get some lunch now.” Dr. Lawrence said.

As soon as the android left, Gabriel spoke up. “Doc, I have a question. Why are we going through the trouble of lying to this thing?”

“To make it more controllable. The story we’ve fed it makes it sympathetic to us, more cooperative. I also believe that so long as it believes that it’s human, the less chance there is it’ll go rogue. Once the kill switch is installed, we’ll be able to mold it more to our purposes.”

“Fine. But I still have the feeling that this’ll backfire badly in our faces. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Noted, sir.”

X

After some psychological tests and scans to make sure that it didn’t have any hidden Talon programs, the android was bought to Overwatch HQ to introduce it to the rest of the team. But only a few people were told of its true nature, in order to lessen the chance of the secret getting out. Among those in the know were Ana, Angela, and Torbjörn.

None of them approved of using the android. Ana shared Gabriel’s sentiments, thinking that it had the potential to blow up spectacularly. Angela thought it was unethical. Torbjörn plain just didn’t trust any form of artificial intelligence. But they made the effort to uphold the illusion anyway. A private bed got added to the medical bay, and it came with enough tools that it was practically another workbench for Torbjörn. Ana approved the order for similar arrangements to be made at other Overwatch and Blackwatch bases.

Gabriel was watching the android interact with the other agents from a distance, feeling the weight of the kill switch remote in his pocket. He was basically the android’s handler now, and thus in charge of turning the thing off every time it acted up, got damaged and needed repairs, or got suspicious about its true identity. A big responsibility.

The android laughed at a joke Lena had made. Again, it struck Gabriel just how humanlike Talon had made its machine, and he looked away.

 _Don’t forget_ , he reminded himself. _No matter how human it acts, by the end of the day it’s just another tin can._

X

“Morrison, are you paying attention?”

“Yes sir.”

“Good, because you need to listen closely. You may be stronger than the rest of us, but that doesn’t mean you can always brute-strength your way out of a problem. You need technique to go with that strength. Now follow my lead.”

Gabriel showed the android several moves for close-quarters combat. It mimicked his movements as best as it could, and let Gabriel adjust its stance when needed. The android learned quickly, and soon it was going through the motions as though it practiced them for years.

Next they sparred, with an understood mandate to not try to break any bones. While the android had shown that it could control its strength, it didn’t hurt to make sure it could stay in control during a pitched situation, and not cause unneeded collateral damage.

Gabriel did his best to either dodge or counter the android’s strikes. Even though it was holding back immensely, Gabriel could see how much of a terror it could be on the battlefield. It was fast, and since it couldn’t feel pain, it would just keep going no matter how much damage was done to it. Something that bore down on you, undeterred by anything you threw at it…it would be like fighting something out of the Omnic Crisis all over again.

Then the android tackled him, knocking them both to the ground. The sudden weight of all that metal knocked the breath out of his lungs. But he quickly rallied, and threw his hands up, catching the android’s fists. He bucked his hips to try and free himself, and when that didn’t work, he kneed the android in the gut. That gave him enough leverage to toss the android off of himself.

Gabriel panted, aware of the dull pain throbbing in several places on his body, while the android barely looked scuffed. Even though the outcome was somewhat unsurprising, Gabriel’s pride was wounded, especially because the thing had an expression of concern.

“Are you alright?” it asked.

“I’m fine,” he spat, pushing himself off the ground, away from the android. “Our next training session is tomorrow, same time.”

He walked away, not looking back at all.

X

It was the android’s first mission. They were after one Afonso Fernandes. Fernandes was a notorious gang leader who dabbled in many unsavory businesses, ranging from grand larceny to human trafficking. But after tonight, he and his gang would be no more.

Fernandes’s mansion was located in the southern part of Salvador, Brazil. The place was isolated from the rest of the city, and was surrounded by walls. But that served to their advantage, since that meant there would be less witnesses to worry about.

The transport ship landed on a cliff overlooking the mansion, and the team got out. Cruz put his binoculars on and scanned the mansion. “What do you see?” Gabriel asked.

“At least 10 guards, 4 of them omnic. All of them are armed. I can’t see Fernandes in any of the windows either.” Cruz looked up at his commander. “Sir, is it really a good idea to bring…the new recruit along?”

Gabriel glanced at the android, who was looking a bit nervous. “This is the test run, Cruz. If it proves to be too much of a liability we can fix it later so that it isn’t.” he whispered.

Gabriel turned to face the rest of the team. “Alright men!  Listen up! We’ll be splitting up into smaller squads. Araki and Hargin, you’ll be going in from the east. Cruz and Zheng, from the south. Morrison, you’re with me. Don’t try to cause too big of a scene.”

They split up and head in, grappling over the walls. When a guard rounded the corner, Gabriel promptly blasted him in the face. He dragged the body under some bushes so that it wouldn’t alert any other guards. Gabriel then broke the lock on the door and they headed inside to look for the gang boss.

But of course, things couldn’t go as planned. There was the sound of shots being fired in the distance, and an alarm sounded in the building. More guards appeared, and immediately started firing at the two. They returned fire, then ducked into a side room to avoid the hail of lead.

“Sir…” Gabriel looked at the android. “I think they got me. Is it bad?” it said.

Gabriel looked the android over. He could see some areas where it had been winged, but otherwise it didn’t look damaged. What a surprise. 

“It’s nothing we can’t fix up later,” he said curtly. He opened the comm channel. “Araki! Hargin! What the hell happened?!”

It was Araki that answered. “It looks like Fernandes gave his omnics some upgrades. We were scouting the halls when a bunch of them started shooting at us through the walls.” 

Gabriel cursed. “Are you alright?”

“We’re still alive, but Hargin took one to the shoulder. We’re in the dining room right now.”

There was the sound of machine gun fire and splintering wood. “I don’t think this table will last any longer!”

Gabriel switched channels. “Cruz! Zheng! Get to Araki and Hargin now!”

“Roger sir.”

Gabriel turned to the android. “Alright Morrison. On the count of three, we throw the door open and fire on any bastard in sight. Got it?” It nodded.

“One. Two. Three!” Gabriel kicked the door open, and began firing into the horde of guards.

The android followed suit, firing its pulse rifle. They covered each other throughout the halls, and the opposition fell before them.

They soon reached the dining room, firing into the last of the guards. Zheng was treating Hargin’s shoulder wound. Cruz looked up at his commander. “I think that was the last of them. Fernandes can’t station an entire army here.”

“We still need to hurry and find him. They could have called for reinforcements and they could be arriving any minute. Search the building for anywhere he might have scampered off to.”

They combed the mansion. They were in the living room when Araki noticed something off about the living room carpet. She pulled it aside, and lo and behold, there was a steel trap door to a safe room.

“Step back. I’m going to try blowing it up.” She began to set up explosives, when the android stepped forward.

“Wait. I want to try something.” Araki raised an eyebrow, but sighed and stepped away.

The android rubbed its hands and breathed out. Then it swiftly punched the trap door, leaving behind a significant dent in the metal. It punched the door several more times before grabbing it and tearing it away from its hinges.

It looked at Gabriel. “What was that about brute-forcing my way out of problems, sir?”

Gabriel wanted to punch it in the mouth right there.

Instead he only scowled and stepped onto the exposed stairs. “Let’s just do what we came here for.”

Fernandes was with two other bodyguards, but before anyone could say anything, the Blackwatch operatives unloaded their weapons into them. Their objective achieved, the team headed back to the transport as quickly as they could.

As soon as the android was inside, Gabriel took out the kill switch and pushed the button. He watched, not without a little pleasure, the android fall over like a felled tree. He could come to enjoy this job.

X

Torbjörn was hard at work repairing the android. Gabriel watched as he repaired damaged areas, replaced old components, cleaned the metal, upgraded some parts, and mended artificial skin.

“How much longer is this going to take?” Gabriel groused. “It’s been several hours already.”

“Hey, this isn’t work that can be rushed.” Torbjörn began welding metal into place. “You got somewhere to be now?”

“It’s just a piece of important equipment I’d rather have back sooner instead of later.”

He could practically see the Swede roll his eyes behind the welding mask. Torbjörn resumed working, leaving Gabriel to wait.

X

“MORRISON!”

Gabriel threw open the door to the android’s quarters. The android was lying on the bed, reading a book that, judging from the hearts on the cover, was a romance novel. The android blinked at him several times.

“Commander, what are you doing here? It’s the middle of the night.”

“Middle of the…? Morrison, it is 11 A.M.”

“What!?” The android looked back at the clock on its bedside table. “Oh. Oooooooh.”

“You may have missed breakfast, but that does _not_ mean you are missing training. Now get your ass out here.”

The android glanced back down at its book. “Can I read just a few more pages? Harper’s about to finally confess her feelings to Richard…”

The android started yelling as Gabriel grabbed it by the ear and dragged it out of bed.

X

The sound of the dribbling ball echoed in the empty gym. Gabriel tossed the basketball at the hoop, and successfully landed the shot. He caught the ball and dribbled it again.

The door to the gym opened, and Gabriel looked to see who had come in. It was the android.

“Hi Commander. Shooting some hoops?”

“Yes,” Gabriel replied, tossing the ball into the basket again. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to do some working out.” The android watched Gabriel land another shot. “You’re really good at that.”

Gabriel smirked. “Captain of the team in high school. Led us to victory at the National Championship.”

“Impressive.” The android paused. “Hey, can you show me how to play?”

Gabriel gave the android a look. “Why?”

“I want to be able to. Besides, it can’t be any worse than your regular training.”

Gabriel bounced the ball, caught it, and began spinning it on his finger. “You really think you can know the entire game inside and out?”

The android grinned. “Hey, I’m a fast learner.”

Gabriel showed the android how to dribble and shoot. After that were some practice games. However, Gabriel showed no mercy. The android was never able to hold onto the ball for long, and Gabriel blocked every shot it made. Gabriel scored with every shot he made, almost carelessly.

By the end of it, the android was wiped out. “That…was unfair, Reyes. I barely know what I’m doing, and you still trounce me instead of giving me a chance. One of these days I _will_ beat you.”

Gabriel laughed. “I highly doubt that you’ll ever be able to, Morrison. But I would like to see you try.”

He walked away, and, as the final kicker, tossed the ball into the basket without even looking.

“I _will_ win! One of these days! I swear it!”

X

Another mission. This one was in Paris. There had been an outbreak of strange murders over the last 2 weeks. The victims were found with horrible burns all over their bodies, and missing organs, including the heart and liver. The French police were stuck with absolutely no leads on this case, so they had called in outside help.

Currently Gabriel and his team were staking out the area where most of the victims had been found.  It was a run-down part of the city, filled with abandoned buildings and the destitute. They had been there for 6 hours now, with no notable activity.

But their vigilance paid off. “Sir, there’s two people coming down the street.” Zheng said into the comm. “They look like Alice Bonnet and Andre Duval, both suspects in the case.”

“Where are they headed?”

“They’re going into the church.”

When the two did not come back out of the church, Gabriel and his men headed in to investigate. The suspects were not there, and they searched the church for clues for where they had gone.

Jesse searched under a broken pew. “Hey, I think there’s a switch here!”

He then pressed it. The ground shook as the altar slid aside, revealing a hidden staircase. The staircase was so narrow that the only way to go in was single file.

Gabriel shined his flashlight down the darkness, and only illuminated a few steps. “Zheng, Cavallo, stay up here in case anyone comes in. I’m going in with Morrison and McCree. If we’re not back in three hours, call in backup.”

Gabriel went in first, followed by Morrison and Jesse. Once they reached the bottom, they shined their lights around. Jesse’s breath hitched at the sight of the skulls lining the walls. “Where the hell are we?”

“From the looks of it, the Paris Catacombs.” Gabriel said as he looked around. This was not a good place to get in a firefight. The passageways were cramped, and visibility was bad even with light.

Morrison looked down the passageways. “There’s footprints down this one.” He pointed.

They followed the tracks, going deeper into the catacombs. Worryingly, the two sets of footprints were joined by others, and they all seemed to be headed for the same destination. They could hear the sound of chanting in the distance.

The passage eventually opened up into a large cavern. Torches on the walls illuminated the strange carvings on them. The three were standing on top of a stairwell, and they carefully approached the edge to see what was going on below. “Jesus.” Jesse whispered.

There were hundreds of figures clad in red robes. They were raptly listening to a hooded man, evidently their leader.

“She Who Burns has spoken to me,” the priest intoned. “She is pleased with our recent sacrifices. However, She is not yet satisfied. She demands more be burned in Her name.

“I asked Her how such a sacrifice should be carried out, and She showed me the way. The pigs will be gathered in the streets tomorrow in celebration. When they are out, we will bathe the streets in fire. I have already gathered the tools for this.

“And now, another sacrifice, for luck. Bring the pig.”

A burly figure appeared, dragging along a nude woman. The woman was bound in tight ropes, and her screaming was muffled by the gag in her mouth. She was chained to the sacrificial altar. The priest raised a dagger above her and began to chant, the other cultists joining in.

“Like hell I’m just gonna let a lady get murdered.” Jesse muttered, and he fired Peacekeeper at the priest. The shot hit him in the head, and the body collapsed. Jesse then leapt down into the fray, Morrison following suit.

“McCree! Morrison!” Gabriel shouted. But there the two went, charging in like idiots. “Cabrones,” he muttered, and he jumped down to join them.

Most of the cultists had scattered when the shots started, but some had been armed, and they stayed behind, firing at them from behind overturned pews. Jesse and Gabriel fired back, while Morrison worked on freeing the woman from the chains.

Suddenly, one cultist sprang up behind Jesse. He had been playing dead, and now he was holding a knife. Before Jesse could react, the cultist drove the knife into Jesse’s left arm, and dragged it down.

Jesse screamed in agony, and Gabriel whirled onto Jesse’s attacker. “Kid! Get down!”

Jesse at least dropped to the ground, allowing Gabriel to blast the cultist’s head into oblivion. Gabriel looked back at Morrison, who was helping the woman to her feet. “Morrison! We need to get out of here now!”

Morrison nodded and helped the woman hold onto him, while Gabriel did the same for Jesse. They ran out of the cavern, back into the catacombs.

But remembering which way they came was no easy task under the pressure. They had to pause often to make sure they didn’t make a wrong turn and end up lost. “Was it a right or a left we made, Morrison?” Gabriel asked.

"I think it was…” Morrison was cut off by a rumbling. “What was that?”

There were several explosions in quick succession, and the ceiling collapsed on top of them. The last thing Gabriel saw before rocks filled his vision was Morrison reaching for him.

Gabriel and Jesse were trapped. Even if Gabriel was an enhanced soldier, he couldn’t bust his way out of several layers of solid rock. But this was still not a time for panicking. Gabriel gently laid Jesse on the ground. “How does your arm feel?”

“Still throbbing,” Jesse groaned.

Gabriel took a medkit from his belt and treated Jesse’s arm as best as he could. As he worked, Jesse’s breathing became less labored.

“Thanks boss…” Jesse relaxed. “Boss, there’s something I want to say, now that we’re trapped underground, with no hope of escaping…I want to say thank you. Thank you for everything you’ve ever done for me. Giving me a second chance, helping me turn my life around.”

Gabriel squeezed Jesse’s hand tightly. “We are not going to die, kid. And save your breath, we’ve got little oxygen as it is.”

Jesse chuckled and closed his eyes. Fear briefly seized Gabriel’s heart, but he checked Jesse’s pulse and found it, albeit it was beating more slowly. He sighed in relief, and sat back against the wall.

All of a sudden, the rubble that was keeping them trapped began to shake. The rocks were pulled out one by one, eventually revealing a distraught Morrison. “Gabriel! Gabriel! Jesse!”

Behind Morrison were Zheng and Cavallo. “As soon as we heard the explosions, we called in backup.” Zheng explained. “We found Morrison trying to dig his way out, and he explained what had happened to us. We apprehended as many people as we could, we can interrogate them later on their activities and where the rest of them might’ve run off too.” She looked behind Gabriel at Jesse. “Is he…?”

“Kid’s still alive. I did what I can for his arm, but I’m not certain it can be saved.” Gabriel said, helping her get a hold of Jesse. “We rescued a woman from them. Where is she?”

“With us. She’s pretty shaken after what happened to her. She’ll be sent to the hospital so she can get whatever treatment she needs.”

Gabriel nodded, then looked at Morrison. Morrison swallowed. “I was…I was really worried about you. Are you alright?”

“Only a few scratches, nothing that can kill me.”

Morrison nodded, then looked down, as though self-conscious.

“Morrison.”

“Yes?”

“You did good today.”

Morrison blinked, then smiled. “Thank you, sir.”


	3. Chapter 3

Gabriel stepped inside Morrison’s quarters. Morrison looked up from polishing his medals. “Oh, hi commander. Is there something you need?”

“Just checking in on you.”

Morrison replaced the medals in their case. “I’m alright. Sir, is Jesse okay?”

“He's fine, not too much lasting damage.”

“That's good to hear.” Morrison paused. “Commander, since you’re here, there’s something I wanted to ask.”

"Shoot.”

“Has there been any luck with that investigation about finding my parents?”

Though he had rehearsed for that question, Gabriel still found it difficult to give his answer. “No, I’m sorry to say. It’s like Talon wiped any trace of them off the earth.”

“Oh…” Morrison looked back at his medal case. “…Do you think they would be proud of me?”

“I’m sure they would.”

Morrison smiled, and the sense of guilt in Gabriel’s stomach deepened.

X

“Lay another on me!”

Morrison poured another shot, which Hargin promptly snatched up and downed. Chuckles broke out among the men seated at the bar.

A few weeks ago Morrison had decided to try his hand his hand at cooking. After managing to set the kitchen on fire 3 times, he had been permanently banned from trying to cook anything ever. Still wanting to try something with food, Morrison had taken up bartending duties at the base. And wouldn’t you know it, he could mix up a mean cocktail.

“You know,” Morrison said as he refilled everyone’s glasses, “I’ve come up with drinks based on all of you guys.”

Jesse whistled. “Alright then, Morrison. What would be…” he leaned forward. “A Jesse McCree?”

“Well,” Morrison grinned and grabbed the cocktail shaker. “It’s bourbon, with 3 dashes of Angostura bitters, a splash of club soda, a pinch of sugar…” He shook the shaker, then poured the liquid into a lowball glass. “Garnished with an orange slice.” He finished off.

Jesse grabbed the glass and quaffed from it. “Mmmmmmm! Perfection!” He formed an O with his fingers. He scratched his chin, and a devious grin appeared on his face. “What’s a…Gabriel Reyes?”

Gabriel stepped on Jesse’s foot, who kept that shit-eating grin on his face. Morrison chewed his lip, but grabbed some bottles nonetheless. “Kahlua, Bacardi 151 rum, and a dash of grenadine…” he handed the glass over to Gabriel.

Gabriel sipped from his glass. It did taste rather good. Morrison smiled and poured himself a glass. He raised it at Gabriel, then drank from it.

X  

“Men, we have a situation on our hands.”

It was a mission briefing, and everyone was grim. “In Egypt, terrorists have taken 10 people hostage. They’ve taken them to their camp in the desert.” Gabriel pulled up a map of the camp on the holo-projector. “Since we don’t want to risk alerting them, we can only send in a small team.”

There was silence as the weight of the situation set in. Then Morrison suddenly raised his hand, and all eyes turned to him. “Sir, I volunteer to get the hostages out of there.”

Gabriel silently considered it. Morrison was stronger and faster than the rest of them. That meant he could get the hostages out quicker.

“Alright, you’ll be in charge of the actual rescuing then.” Gabriel pointed at the map. “Now, here’s the plan for getting them out…”

X

Gabriel scanned the camp with his binoculars. “I can see the hostages, plus 15 hostiles, all armed with rifles. 3 hostiles are guarding the hostages.”

Gabriel gritted his teeth as one terrorist hit one hostage with the butt of his rifle. When the hostage collapsed, another terrorist joined his compatriot in kicking him into the dirt. A child turned and tried to flee, and the third terrorist promptly shot him dead.

“Shit. They killed one of the hostages. We can’t loiter around anymore.” Gabriel put away his binoculars. “Remember Morrison, go in 5 minutes after me. Williams will keep pressure off the both of us.”

Gabriel headed down, entering the camp from the other side. He stuck to the shadows, staying out of the terrorists’ sight. His job was playing distraction, keeping attention off of Morrison.

Gabriel took cover behind a truck, near two terrorists. “Alright Williams, time to shine.” He said into the comm.

The two terrorists near Gabriel dropped, cleanly executed by the sniper. Gabriel got moving again, heading deeper into the camp. One terrorist was patrolling, inattentive to his surroundings. Perfect. Gabriel unsheathed his combat knife, snuck up on the terrorist, and grabbed him. The terrorist struggled in his grasp, uselessly firing his rifle into the air. Gabriel stabbed him through the throat, and he twitched for a few more seconds before going limp.

The comm came to life. It was Williams. “Sir, there’s three transport trucks approaching the camp. They’re probably enemy backup.”

“Joder!” Gabriel contacted Morrison. “Morrison, have you gotten to the hostages yet?”

“I have,” came the reply. “But 2 are injured, they can only be moved by stretcher.”

“Get the other hostages who can walk to help carry them. Escort them to the transport, Williams and I will be covering you.”

Gabriel started running again. He got his shotguns out, blasting anybody who got in his way. Several explosions went off in the distance. “Williams! What’s going on?”

“They spotted me! They’re firing at my position!”

“Relocate!”

Then Morrison called in with more bad news. “The enemy’s reinforcements are here! They’re firing at us! We’re behind cover but I don’t think it’ll last!”

“I’m heading to your position now! Protect the hostages!”

He ran as fast he could. He could see Morrison, popping in and out of cover to shoot at the attackers. Gabriel ran around, flanking the terrorists. He fired his shotguns away, and in no time the terrorists were down.

He went over to Morrison, who was doing his best to comfort the hostages, some of whom were children. “I know this is all really scary,” he said to one girl. “But you’re with the good guys now, and by the end of the day, the good guys always win. We’ll get you home, I promise.”

The girl nodded, and Morrison smiled. “Alright!” he shouted. “Follow me and Gabriel! We’ll take you to a transport!”

Gabriel and Morrison began to lead the hostages out of the camp. The girl Morrison had been talking to tripped, and he went back to help her up. But the terrorists weren’t done with them yet.

A grenade landed on the ground near the girl. Gabriel saw it first. “Jack! Grenade!”

Morrison curled up around the girl, shielding her with his body. The grenade went off, flinging the two several feet away. Gabriel ran over, heedless of the risk that might not have been the only surprise the terrorists had left.

When he reached them, he saw that the grenade had done the most damage to Morrison’s back. The clothes and skin had been burned off, exposing the metal. Morrison uncurled, letting go of the girl, who was unharmed.

Gabriel helped Morrison stand. “That was a foolhardy move. You’re lucky you’re not dead. We’re going to have to get you immediate medical attention.”

In spite of that, Morrison smiled. “It’s good to know that you care about me, Reyes…” He looked back at the other hostages. “Let’s complete the mission now and meet up with Williams.”

“Cabrón…One of these days this heroism will get you killed.” Gabriel muttered, though he was smiling slightly.

But the time came to use the kill switch. And reluctantly, he pushed the button. As Jack's eyes closed, Gabriel couldn't tell himself that it didn't feel wrong.

X

Once again, Morrison was being repaired. While Gabriel had seen him get fixed up before, now, the sight of Morrison slumped over while Torbjörn repaired the damage to his back…it disturbed him slightly.

“Torbjörn,” Gabriel suddenly said. “I realized something recently.”

“Well then, spit it out lad,” the engineer said, not looking up. “I don’t have all day.”

“You’ve done a lot for us, maintaining our android. I have to thank you for that.”

Torbjörn grinned. “Eh, it’s nothing, lad. I’m just a man doing the jobs no one else can.”

Okay, that got on his nerves a bit. He needed to say the rest of his thing before he got sick of the Swede’s attitude. “It was some pretty good thinking, giving him some moral parameters. That’ll make sure he’s less likely to go crazy…”

“What’re you talking about?”

X

“Gabriel! Gabriel!”

Gabriel looked back. Jack was running up to him. “You need something?”

“Well, I wanted to ask you something.” Jack cleared his throat. “I really hope I don’t screw this up…Quieres ir a una cita conmigo?”

_Oh shit._

A million thoughts raced through Gabriel’s head. _I’ve literally known him from the moment he started existing. And he’s what, only several years old at this point? Would it be cradle-snatching if I said yes? What were the laws on Omnic relations again? Jack’s like an Omnic, maybe those apply to him?_

Jack seemed to deflate at Gabriel’s silence. “So…is that a no then?”

Gabriel snapped back to reality. “I was thinking it over! Listen…” he looked straight into Jack’s eyes. “Are you sure that this is actually something you want? That your feelings are real? That this isn’t a silly crush?”

Jack nodded vigorously. “Yes! I’m sure!”

“Well, let’s make sure of that. I’ll go out with you…but we’ll take it slow. We’ll both make sure that this is what’s right for us.”

Jack grinned. “Thank you, Gabriel, for giving me a chance. So, I was thinking of going to this nice restaurant downtown…”

X

Gabriel and Jack were on leave from Blackwatch. Previously, since Jack didn’t really have anywhere to go, he stayed at base whenever he was given leave. But now that he and Gabriel were going out, they did things together. Gabriel had decided to take Jack to his native California, and Jack had been over the moon ever since they had arrived. Gabriel could’ve done without Jack looking like a gawking tourist the entire time, but he had to admit, it was endearing in a way.

Right now, the two were standing outside the Reyes apartment. “I’m a bit nervous to meet your family.” Jack said. “Do you think they’ll like me?”

“I’m sure they’ll love you.” Gabriel knocked on the door.

It was Gabriel’s mother who answered. “Mijo! It’s so good to see you again!” She hugged her son and kissed him.

“Hi,” Jack waved timidly.

Mama Reyes looked over at him. “And who’s this handsome man, Gabi?”

“Mama, this is Jack Morrison. We’ve been going out for a while now.”

Her eyes sparkled. “Oh Gabi! You are a lucky man!” She took Jack by the arm and began pulling him inside. “Come in, come in, we have to get you introduced!”

Papa Reyes warmly shook Jack’s hand, while Gabriel’s oldest sister hi-fived him while grinning. His other sister sized Jack up for a long long time before finally walking up to him and showing him her teddy bear.

Jack was a bit flustered by all the attention he was getting. He held up a gift box. “I got this for you guys.”

Mama Reyes opened the box, and pulled out an owl carved out of wood. “This is lovely! Thank you very much! I’ll give this a nice place to stand.”

“It took Jack over an hour to pick it out from the gift shop,” Gabriel stage-whispered.

“Gabe!” Jack spluttered. “Um…” he pulled out his camera from his pocket. “Can I take a picture of you guys? I like to make scrapbooks.”

“And bore people to tears showing them off.” Gabriel added.

Everyone laughed. “Oh, of course you can.” Mama Reyes said.

Papa Reyes and Gabriel gathered everyone up, and Jack snapped several pictures. When he was done, Gabriel’s youngest sister bounded away. “Can we watch _Beauty and the Beast_ now?”

“Of course mijo,” Papa Reyes said. “Would you like to join us for movie night?” he asked Jack.

“Sure!”

And as they watched Belle and the Beast dance together, Jack leaning on Gabriel, Gabriel found himself feeling quite content.

X

Ilios was always lovely. Even if they were here on a mission, Gabriel could appreciate the scenery. The sea air could help him relax a bit.

As he stepped out of the base, he saw that someone was already up on the balcony. It was Jack, snapping pictures.

Jack turned and saw him. “Gabe! It’s beautiful out here!”

Gabriel took his place by Jack’s side, watching the waves lap the shore. “Sure is. Maybe we should retire here one day.”

Jack laughed. “Hey, come a bit closer, I want to take a picture of us together here.”

Gabriel obliged, stepping closer to Jack. They turned so that their backs were facing the ocean. Jack set the camera on a timer, and right before it went off, he suddenly kissed Gabriel on the cheek.

The camera flashed. Jack pulled up the picture he had just taken. “Perfect,” he grinned.

“No, it could be better.”

“How so?”

Gabriel pulled Jack close, wrapping his arms around his waist. He kissed Jack passionately, and Jack simply melted in his arms.

And the camera slipped out of Jack’s fingers and dropped to the floor, forgotten for the moment.

X

The night was quiet. Jack was soundly asleep, face peaceful. Yet Gabriel was awake. He was sitting up in bed, watching Jack.

He reached out and gently touched Jack. Jack did not stir, continuing to sleep on.

Gabriel sighed. “What are we doing with you?” he asked softly.

X

The hammer had to drop sometime.

It was a bust of a weapons smuggling operation. They had burst onto the scene just as the deal was about to be made. Some guys got the bright idea to unleash the goods on the team, some experimental energy weapons. As Jack rushed into the thick of things, one turned his energy cannon on Jack and fired. He scored a direct hit, blasting Jack’s arm away.

“Jack!” Gabriel ran in after him, while the other Blackwatch agents took care of the goons. Jack was frozen, staring at the mangled mess of metal where his arm used to be. “Shit…” Gabriel cursed. “Jack! Jack!” he cried out, trying to snap him out of his trance.

Jack looked at Gabriel, utterly terrified. “Gabe…What is this? _What is this_?”

This was something that could be fixed. All Gabriel had to do was use the kill switch. Jack would go offline, and they would be free to make repairs, tweak his memory so that it never happened.

Gabriel’s hand hovered near the kill switch…and it fell away. Instead he grabbed onto Jack and hauled him to cover. Jack didn’t resist at all.

When they were all back in the transport, everyone gave Jack and Gabriel nervous looks. Jack was silent the entire trip, but Gabriel could practically see him connecting the dots.

They were soon back at base, and Gabriel took Jack to Torbjörn. The engineer had been working when they barged in, and he turned to grouse at them. “I’m busy, why’re you bothering me…”

Then Torbjörn saw Jack, still awake. “Why is it online?” he growled.

And Gabriel saw Jack _break_.

X

It had been several hours since Jack had been brought back. He was now in his room, and had refused to come out.

Gabriel knocked on the door. No response. Yet when he tried the door, he found it unlocked, and went inside.

Jack was sitting on the bed, staring at his new arm, experimentally flexing his fingers. He briefly glanced up when he heard Gabriel come in, then curled up, hugging his knees close to himself.

Silence. Jack broke it first. “Angela told me everything…Why? Why did you hide this from me?”

What could Gabriel say besides the truth? “Because we wanted to use you.”

Jack curled up tighter, and his body began to shake. Gabriel could tell that he was trying to cry, even though he could not. Gabriel reached forward. “Jack…”

Jack recoiled. “No! Everything about me is a lie! From the very start, everything was just a lie! It was so good,” he said quietly, “That I didn’t know it was a lie.

“Please, leave me alone.” Jack said in a broken voice.

Gabriel turned to leave. But before he closed the door behind him, he said, “I’m sorry.”

He received no answer.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things can go south in the blink of an eye.

“The connection’s been established. We can now access its data and programming.” 

“Good. Time to give Overwatch a big surprise.”

X

When Lena saw Jack come through the doors of Overwatch HQ, she didn’t suspect that anything was wrong. “Hey Jack!” she chirped. “Wanna hear a joke? I got it from Winston. ‘What does a subatomic duck say? Quark!’” she laughed.

It was then that she caught sight of Jack’s eyes. Instead of their usual blue, they were red. “Jack, did you get new contact lenses or something?”

Jack lifted his pulse rifle, aimed right at her chronal accelerator, and fired.

Lena was barely able to blink away in time. “Jack! Why did you do that?” She pulled out her pulse pistols and aimed at him, even though she didn’t want to open fire on a friend.

Jack did not answer, only continuing to fire at her. People in the lobby started screaming and running, while security did their best to escort them safely out of the building and help Lena fight Jack. Someone hit the alarm, and it began blaring throughout the whole building.

While some of their shots did hit their target, none of them seemed to phase Jack. He kept on walking forward, firing relentlessly.

Lena pulled out a pulse bomb. “Sorry luv.” She lobbed it at Jack.

The bomb landed at Jack’s feet. He saw it, and leapt behind the visitor’s desk. The bomb went off, only taking several tables as casualties. Lena and the guards began firing at the desk, but then the desk came flying at them, and they had to dive out of the way.

They had no reprieve. Helix rockets were fired at them. Lena grabbed onto the guards who had landed near her, and blinked away before they could be blown up.

Jack grabbed one guard by the neck and lifted him into the air. Lena kept her pistols trained on Jack, but she couldn’t fire on him, not with him having a human shield. Jack glanced at her, then promptly tossed the guard at her. The guard hit her, and they both fell to the ground, groaning.

With no more opposition, Jack strode away, deeper into the base.

Lena turned her comm on. “Athena! Patch me through to every Overwatch agent!”

“Affirmative.”

Every Overwatch agent in the area was called in to help with the situation. Among them was Gabriel. As soon as he heard there was an emergency he rushed to HQ as fast as he could.

When he arrived, crowds of people were already gathered outside, many of them frightened. Ambulances had been called in to transport the injured to the hospital. Spotting Angela, he ran up to her. “Angela! What’s going on?”

“It’s Jack. He’s gone berserk. Winston suspects that he’s been tampered with by outside sources, from what Lena told us. Likely Talon, they were the ones who made him in the first place.”

Gabriel cursed. “I’m going in after him.”

“No,” Angela said firmly, grabbing his arm. “You know better than anyone that he’s practically unstoppable. We’re focusing all our efforts on evacuating everyone out of the building, it’s the best course of action.”

“I have the kill switch. I can shut him down, and then we can clean out everything Talon from him.”

She scowled. “I can just tell by the look on your face that nothing I say will convince you otherwise, even though this is completely foolhardy…”

He kissed her on the forehead. “I promise I’ll be back.”

He ran into the base and patched into Athena. “Athena! Where’s Jack right now?”

“In the sub-basement level of the base.” The AI replied. “I have put it on lockdown, but the bulkheads are only slowing him down.”

“Is the elevator still operational?”

“It is.” The elevator doors opened, and Gabriel got inside. Once the elevator ride was over, Gabriel looked around. Jack had left an easy path for him to follow. He could see where Jack had either pulled the bulkheads apart, or made holes in the walls themselves to go through. Gabriel followed the trail, and it eventually led him to the armory. The heavily reinforced door was hanging loosely from its hinges, and Gabriel went inside.

He looked around, frowning. Most of the guns were still here, so what had Jack taken-

“Joder!” Every goddamn explosive in the armory was gone!

He contacted Athena again. “What’s Jack doing now?”

“He is back on the ground floor, setting up explosives. You need to hurry.”

“You don’t need to tell me!”

Gabriel rushed back to the elevator, aware that any second the base could collapse on him. After a maddening wait, Gabriel ran out, searching for Jack.

He eventually spotted Jack, arming an explosive. Gabriel pulled out the kill switch. “Lo siento mi sol,” he said softly, and he pushed the button.

Nothing happened. Jack was still standing. Gabriel pressed the button several more times, only to get the same result. Talon must’ve blocked the kill switch signal somehow.

But he was still going to try and stop Jack. He pulled out his shotguns and fired, right into Jack’s back.

Jack turned around, facing him with those red eyes. He aimed his pulse rifle at Gabriel, only for Gabriel to unload right into the rifle itself, rendering it useless. Jack dropped his weapon and simply bull rushed Gabriel.

Gabriel sidestepped Jack, and Jack crashed into the wall. Jack recovered and threw a punch at him, which Gabriel dodged, leaving a sizable crater in the wall. Gabriel hooked his arms under Jack’s own, restraining him.

“Jack!” Gabriel shouted. “I know you’re in there somewhere! Snap out of it!”

Jack continued to stay silent. He stomped on Gabriel’s foot, hard enough to make him yell. Jack backed up fast, slamming Gabriel into the wall. But still, Gabriel did not let go.

Gabriel glanced at Jack’s hand. The detonator! He reached out for it. Just a little bit…

Jack pressed the button, and they were both consumed by fire.

X

Jack’s vision flickered to life. He groaned and sat up. What had happened? Where was he?

He looked around, and found himself surrounded by flames and debris. How had he got here? What-

Then it all flooded back to him in a rush. Shooting at his fellow Overwatch agents. Tearing through the base. And-

A cold rush of fear filled him. “Gabriel.” He frantically dug through the rubble. “Gabriel!”

He caught sight of an arm, and he pulled it out of the rocks. “GABRIEL!!!”

But Gabriel was gone. “No…no, no, nonononononono…”

Jack cradled the lifeless body and wailed. “Gabriel! I’m sorry! _I’m sorry!_ ”

Jack desperately wished that he were human. Not just so that he would be able to truly cry, but also because then he would feel physical pain. Real pain, pain that matched the anguish in his heart. He would’ve died in that explosion, as he deserved.

Jack considered staying where he was. People would find him, and destroy him, rightly so. But another thought occurred to him. He was responsible for destroying all that he had loved and cared about, but who had made him? Talon. Talon had made him to hurt people, and hurt people he did. For that, they had to pay.

Jack gently laid Gabriel’s body onto the ground, out in the open where it could be easily found. He gave his lover one final kiss. “You deserved so much more than me, Gabriel,” he said softly. “But I’ll get our revenge for us, I promise you.”

Jack walked away from the wreckage. He had a lot of work to do.

X

They met again, years later.

Soldier: 76 was standing on the rooftop of a building, watching the streets of the city below. When black smoke coalesced into a dark figure behind him, he did not turn around.

“How are you alive?” the vigilante asked.

“Help from a friend,” Reaper replied. “Though I'm not entirely sure what she did to me.”

The silence stretched between them. “Jack,” Gabriel stepped forward and removed his mask. “What happened to you?”

Soldier: 76 faced him and took his own mask off. Much of the artificial skin on his face had been burned away, exposing much of his jawline, teeth, and left eye. His nose was completely gone. Gabriel was willing to bet that Jack was missing skin in more areas.

“You tell me,” Jack said. “I’ve never really known anything about myself.”

Gabriel did not answer. Jack turned away and sat down, and Gabriel noticed that Jack’s movements were much stiffer than they had been. He took a seat by Jack and laid a hand on the soldier’s back.

Jack hunched forward and trembled. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art the final scene was based off of: http://cyrioci.tumblr.com/post/148827157034/let-me-just-saythis-is-such-a-good-au-and-i  
> Commissioned piece for Jack cradling Gabriel's dead body: http://cranitys-art.tumblr.com/post/150518265062/what-are-you-but-an-object-pretending-to-be-a


End file.
